Morning in the Land of Waldos
by Rosepixie
Summary: A series of very short stories about characters from Where's Waldo? in the morning. There is very little plot, but it is safe to assume that the stories all take place on the same morning, so small connections may become evident. I have no current plans to expand any of these, but may continue to add more of them over time.
1. Waldo

Waldo dug through his knapsack until he found his tin cup and some loose tea. He had stayed in a busy campsite for the night and was now enjoying the mostly organized chaos of a hundred or more campers getting ready for the day.

As he sat down to make his tea over a shared campfire, Waldo watched the people around him. A large group nearby was packing up their supplies and taking down their tents. It looked like they were preparing to head out on a hike into the woods when they finished breaking down their camp.

At the next campfire over, a woman was warming up a bottle for her baby and a boy was throwing a stick for Woof. Waldo smiled. He had wondered where the dog had disappeared to.

While the water was heating up in the tin cup, Waldo glanced around in anther direction. He spotted a woman showing some men where they were headed on a map. The men looked very confused and Waldo hoped that they wouldn't end up getting lost.

He frowned as his eyes landed on Odlaw writing "Odlaw wuz here" on the side of a nice family's camper. He really wished that Odlaw would stop doing that! It baffled Waldo why anyone would persist in being so incredibly rude. He met so many people in his travels and had long since learned that being polite was the best way to ensure pleasant travels.

The water was finally bubbling, so Waldo dropped the tea leaves into the cup to steep. While he waited, breathing in the sweet smelling tea steam, he looked around for Wilma. She had arrived last night and must be somewhere, but he had yet to spot her this morning.

At the edge of the crowded area was a small campsite where a bear was stealing a string of fresh-caught fish. He could see a couple peeking out of the tent in alarm. A man nearby seemed prepared to act if the bear did anything threatening, but the bear seemed focused on the fish and Waldo felt certain that the worst that would happen was the loss of the couples' meal.

Finally he found Wilma. She was near the edge of the woods looking at some red and white flowers. He wished that he had spotted the flowers before her, they would have made a perfect gift. Oh well. At least they were here together and they had a whole week of traveling planned out ahead of them. Waldo couldn't think of anything better than that. And perhaps he'd find Wilma a gift at one of the other places they were planning to visit.


	2. Wilma

Waldo was still sleeping when Wilma woke up, so she slipped into fresh clothes and went out for a morning walk. She liked the crisp morning air in the crowded campground. A short walk would be a good way to wake up before making some breakfast over a campfire.

Wilma stopped to untie Woof from where he had slept outside the tent. He wagged his tail at her and bounded off to find a place to do his business. She knew he would come back when he was ready and that he wouldn't cause any real trouble. He was a good dog and a highly experienced traveler.

Glancing around the campsite as she walked, Wilma saw that most of the campers were still asleep. A man was snoring loudly as he swung in a hammock that was stretched between two large trees at the edge of the woods. Nearby, a tall woman snoozed in a tent that was so small that her head and feet poked out of it.

A short walk from the tent Wilma had shared with Waldo brought her to a circle of sleeping bags. Each bag belonged to a little girl, maybe a scouting troop of some kind on a camping trip. Two of the girls were awake giggling uncontrollably and putting shaving cream in one of their sleeping friend's hands. Wilma smiled, remembering similar antics from her own childhood.

As she approached the edge of the forest, the veteran traveler decided to give into some childish whimsy and spend some time picking flowers. She hummed to herself as she reached for some butter-yellow daisies.

More the campers around her began to awaken and prepare for the day ahead, but her attention was drawn to the shrieking laughter of the girls from the circle of sleeping bags. It made her smile and think about how nice it was to start the day in such a pretty place, surrounded by so many happy people on vacation.


	3. Woof

Woof woke up curled in a circle like a little throw pillow that had somehow been left in the middle of a campsite. There was a tiny dog-sized tent for him, but the night had been so nice that he had carefully tamped down a patch of grass and made a nest for himself under the stars instead.

Just as Woof was stretching luxuriously (his favorite just-woke-up ritual), Wilma came out of the big tent next to his little one. She obligingly scratched the scruff of his neck, untied him from the lead, and let him bound off towards the woods.

Woof found the woods fascinating. There were tons of interesting smells and so many unfamiliar animals had left trails! He sniffed around until he found the perfect spot to relieve himself. Finding the right spot was always interesting - it had to be prominent, but not where someone else had gone recently, and it had to send the right message. This morning, Woof was confident that he had made the perfect choice of spots.

A hint of a scent caught his attention and Woof turned his head to get a better whiff of it. What was that? It was back where all the humans were. The wind shifted and suddenly the smell was crisp and strong. Woof knew exactly what it was! Bacon! Someone was cooking bacon!

Holding his nose in the air and sniffing intently, Woof followed the enticing smell. His nose carried him across the campsite, past the group of giggling girls, past Odlaw digging through a pack for a can of paint, past the man pulling on skis over his heavy snow boots. He found his way all the way to the side of a woman frying bacon at one of the campfires. He wagged his tail at the woman and looked as cute and starving as he could possibly manage. She laughed, tossing him a scrap of the aromatic meat.

What a fantastic way to start the day!


End file.
